Daily Number

331

October 3, 2016

Lobbyists are required to report whenever they’ve tried to influence state legislators on a pending bill, and other than the state budget, the bills that drew the most interest were those related to Blue Cross/Blue Shield Horizon’s “tiered networks” proposal, according to a report by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.

The proposal allows Horizon to create a separate “tier” of healthcare providers — including hospitals — that agree to special discounts in return for more client referrals. The beneficiaries of the plan are expected to be consumers.

The single bill that drew the most lobbying was the annual state budget, which resulted in 301 official contacts by 92 different entities. The Minimum Wage bill, with 108 official contacts by 61 lobbyist entities, was the third most-active bill in terms of lobbyists.

The only bill that passed, of the top 10 that drew lobbyists’ interest, was the state budget.